Compass Early Learning Center Finds Unique Ways to Support Families
From financial assistance to a unique food pantry concept, Compass Early Learning Center in Bloomington offers a variety of programs to support families. A Level 4 Paths to QUALITY™ provider, the center is part of Pathways, a community organization that houses the early learning center and the companion Family Resource Center.
Compass utilizes a sliding scale tuition that takes household size and net household income into consideration, as well as a sibling discount of 10-15% for multiple children enrolled at the center. Many Compass families receive financial support through CCDF, On My Way Pre-K or Monroe County Community School Corporation referendum funding, but for the remaining 20% of families, the tuition discounts are greatly appreciated.
“Offering tuition support is so important to our families,” said Brittney Denton, Compass program director. “Families that make too much to qualify for state vouchers or other safety net programs but are still below the county’s self-sufficiency rate typically can’t afford to pay market rate for child care. So those families have to find a potentially lower quality, less safe or less comprehensive option or leave the workforce altogether. We want to make sure all families have the opportunity to thrive. Part of that is pushing back against the economic barrier that gets put up for families that, by societal definitions, are doing everything they're supposed to be doing to improve their circumstances but don’t qualify for support.”
Compass also provides two meals and two snacks daily to each child at no additional charge and offers complimentary diapers and wipes, further easing the financial burden on families at the center.
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For parents and caregivers, Compass’s food pantry service offers consistent access to groceries, fresh produce and culturally relevant food items to help ease the burden of food insecurity. Prioritizing dignity and choice, adults can fill out an order form when they drop children off in the morning, selecting items from a list of available options. Milk, cheese, eggs, frozen and fresh meat, produce and bread are typically available in addition to non-perishable items. A team member from the Family Resource Center fills the order and bags groceries for the family to take home at the end of the day. “It's important to us that caregivers have choices, rather than assigning them a pre-bagged set of groceries,” said Denton. “They know their families’ dietary needs and preferences and we trust them to make those decisions for themselves.”
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Denton estimates that 80% of the center’s families have utilized the food pantry. “Nobody wants to have to rely on help or assistance, but we look at this as, we all need to eat and it’s really hard to be a parent, it’s really hard to have young kids,” she said. “It's very expensive and any extra help we can offer and give families more choice over the income that they do have has been really beneficial."
In addition to the food pantry, Compass offers cleaning and hygiene products to families each week. “These are items that are often overlooked but are critically important to being able to maintain a healthy and stable home environment,” Denton said.
As part of Pathways, the early learning center offers longer-term asset building opportunities in addition to essential supplies. Caregivers can opt into the Your Path program for support through financial literacy workshops, job readiness programs, economic mobility mentoring and connections to community resources and networks. “We really try to walk alongside each family and meet them where they are,” said Denton. “Our hope is they feel encouraged to work towards true family stability, and ultimately, break the cycle of generational poverty, not just for their family, but for their children's family as well.”
